Mortality and other determinants of bird divorce rate

Pair bonds can end in two different ways: either death of the partner or divorce, where the frequency of divorce varies enormously among bird species, from 0% to 100%. To better understand this variation, we created and analyzed the largest dataset so far, consisting of 158 species and 20 variables that quantify the species’ body size, life history, diet, and other characteristics. Our results suggest that species with a high divorce rate have a high mortality rate, tend to be ornamented and sexually dichromatic, live colonially, and form part-time rather than continuous partnerships. Traits quantifying body size or life history are often nonlinearly related with divorce rate. These nonlinearities might (partly) be caused by nonlinear relationships of the same traits with mortality rate which is, in turn, linearly related with divorce rate. In contrast to what has been found previously, mortality rate appears as a key factor for divorce rate in our study. This makes sense, as the likelihood that a partner survives from one year to the next decreases with increasing mortality rate, diminishing the likely success of a partner that attempts to locate its previous partner. We also found taxonomic differences in divorce rate. Specifically, Anseriformes have an exceptionally low divorce rate, which, however, can be explained by the generally important determinants of divorce rate: They also have a lower mortality rate, lower degree of ornamentation and coloniality, and more continuous partnerships than members of other orders. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

取代芳香族化合物对4种水生生物的毒性研究

建立了105种取代芳香族化合物对4种水生生物(发光菌、四膜虫、大型蚤和斑马鱼)的毒性QSAR模型.取代芳香族化合物对生物体的毒性主要是由2个过程引起,化合物首先穿透细胞膜,然后与机体发生反应.讨论了生物种的种间和种内差别,这种差别可能与生物的脂肪含量有关.化合物分成了3类,非极性麻醉型化合物、极性麻醉型化合物和反应型化合物,极性麻醉型化合物比非极性麻醉型化合物毒性要高,反应型化合物毒性最高.     

苯砜基环烷酸酯类化合物的结构与急性毒性关系的密度泛函理论研究

用密度泛函理论方法,在B3LYP／LANL2DZ水平上,计算了28个苯砜基环烷酸酯类化合物的结构参数;将结构参数作为理论描述符,导出苯砜基环烷酸酯类化合物的分子结构参数(α、εa、q^-和μ)与对发光菌毒性(EC50和LC50)的定量关系方程,并用交叉验证法验证,r^2分别为0.9509和0.9320,q^2分别为0．9318和0．9025,其结果优于AM1、CoMFA和CoMSIA方法的计算结果．     

有机磷农药对乙酰胆碱酯酶的抑制作用及QSAR研究

以碘化硫代乙酰胆碱为底物,二硫代二硝基苯甲酸为显色剂,采用分光光度法测定了21种有机磷农药对乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)的半抑制浓度(IC₅₀).运用多元线性回归分析以及参数间的自相关分析建立有机磷农药对AChE抑制作用的QSAR模型.模型分析表明,有机磷农药对AChE的抑制作用主要受特定方向上的原子极化率及原子的电拓扑状态的影响,是多因素综合作用的结果.模型可解释高达78%的数据变异和显著的预测能力(q²=0.653),表明有机磷农药对AChE的抑制作用可借助结构活性关系模型进行预测与评价.     

Antilysozyme Activity as a Factor of Algae Survival in Aquatic Biocenoses

Field and laboratory investigations were performed to study the distribution and functional significance of antilysozyme activity (ALA) in algal cultures. According to the results obtained, ALA as a trait is widespread among green and blue-green algae but is expressed to different extents. Experiments on the algae–zooplankters model showed that ALA is a factor facilitating the survival of algae in freshwater communities by promoting the establishment of their trophic and symbiotic relationships with other aquatic organisms. Analyzing the intrapopulation structure of algal cultures associated with zooplankters, it was shown that changes in the ALA of algal clones have adaptive significance, providing for a greater stability of algal populations in biocenoses.     

The policy consequences of defining rewilding

More than 30 years after it was first proposed as a biodiversity conservation strategy, rewilding remains a controversial concept. There is currently little agreement about what the goals of rewilding are, and how these are best achieved, limiting the utility of rewilding in mainstream conservation. Achieving consensus about rewilding requires agreeing about what “wild” means, but many different definitions exist, reflecting the diversity of values in conservation. There are three key debates that must be addressed to find a consensual definition of “wild”: (1) to which extent can people and “wild” nature co-exist?; (2) how much space does “wild” nature need? and (3) what kinds of “wild” nature do we value? Depending on the kinds of “wild” nature rewilding aims to create, rewilding policy will be faced with managing different opportunities and risks for biodiversity and people.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01560-8.     

Exploring the relationship between unethical practices,buyer–supplier relationships and green design for sustainability

Sustainable procurement practices have gained popularity amongst both researchers and supply chain practitioners. However, ethical practices in sustainable procurement have been the topic of discussion in the recent years. The goal of the study is to scientifically build a green procurement framework by exploring relationship between buyer–supplier relationships, unethical practices and green design for sustainability. The study was conducted considering samples from South African steel and engineering sector. Data show high rate of wastages and losses occurring at various stages of steel and engineering supply chains. Every steel and engineering company aims to reduce such losses for improving their profitability and achieve sustainability. The empirical findings show that such wastage and losses can be minimised through efficient eco-design and involvement of key suppliers at the design stage so that disassembly, recycling and reuse options not only prove successful but as well cost-effective for the organisation. Also we find that buyer deceitful practices are a strong determinant of green design for sustainability. Buyers making up a second source of supply for green components and preferring green suppliers being approved by top management is helpful for mitigation of supply risks under green procurement process. The present study is distinctive in terms of coverage and its contribution to supply chain theory.     

Adaptive capacity and climate change: the role of community opinion leaders

The contribution of the informal community sector to the development of collective response strategies to socioecological change is not well researched. In this article, we examine the role of community opinion leaders in developing and mobilising stocks of adaptive capacity. In so doing, we reveal a largely unexplored mechanism for building on latent social capital and associated networks that have the potential to transcend local-scale efforts – an enduring question in climate change adaptation and other cross-scalar sustainability issues. Participants drawn from diverse spheres of community activity in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, were interviewed about their strategies for influencing their community objectives and the degree to which they have engaged with responding to climate change. The results show community opinion leaders to be politically engaged through rich bridging connections with other community organisations, and vertically with policy-makers at local, state, national and international levels. Despite this latent potential, the majority of community opinion leaders interviewed were not strategically engaged with responding to climate change. This finding suggests that more work is needed to connect networks knowledgeable about projected climate change impacts with local networks of community opinion leaders. Attention to the type of community-based strategies considered effective and appropriate by community opinion leaders and their organisations also suggests avenues for policy-makers to facilitate community engagement in responding to climate change across sectors likely to be affected by its impacts. Opportunities to extend understanding of adaptive capacity within the community sector through further research are also suggested.     

Network and system diagrams revisited: Satisfying CEA requirements for causality analysis

Published guidelines for Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) have called for the identification of cause-and-effect relationships, or causality, challenging researchers to identify methods that can possibly meet CEA's specific requirements. Together with an outline of these requirements from CEA key literature, the various definitions of cumulative effects point to the direction of a method for causality analysis that is visually-oriented and qualitative. This article consequently revisits network and system diagrams, resolves their reported shortcomings, and extends their capabilities with causal loop diagramming methodology. The application of the resulting composite causality analysis method to three Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) case studies appears to satisfy the specific requirements of CEA regarding causality. Three “moments” are envisaged for the use of the proposed method: during the scoping stage, during the assessment process, and during the stakeholder participation process.